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Duties Of A ?Diversity Provost??

Ever wonder what a ?Diversity Provost? does? Purdue University, which is looking for one, apparently isn?t too sure (HatTip to a vigilant reader).

Purdue University invites nominations and applications for the position of Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion (VPDI). This position was created as part of the New Synergies Strategic Plan and seeks to recruit a visionary leader to foster a climate that embraces and promotes diversity, broadly defined. The Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion will be Chief Diversity Officer of the University, serve as a member of the President?s Cabinet and report to the Provost. As Chief Diversity Officer, the VPDI will represent the President and the entire university community to external organizations on matters of diversity and inclusion.

It?s nice to know that the new VPDI is one of the ?New Synergies Strategic Plan,? will of course be a ?visionary? (yes, but what is the vision?), and will ?foster a climate that embraces and promotes diversity, broadly defined.? But what exactly does ?foster a climate? mean? Can climates really embrace and promote anything? And wouldn?t it be a good idea to define ?diversity,? even narrowly, before trying to create a climate that embraces and promotes it ?broadly defined??

Not satisfied with the presumably narrow sort of cultural competence outlined above, Purdue goes on to emphasize that the new ?VPDI will work collaboratively with Vice Presidents, Deans, Directors and other campus leaders to enhance the campus culture for all.?

Culture seems to be big at Purdue. And how, exactly, will the new VPDI bring about all this cultural promoting and embracing and enhancing? Easy:

Using the metrics on diversity set forth in the Strategic Plan, the successful candidate will work with academic units to help them achieve defined goals and measure success in increasing diversity and inclusion (i.e., see that all quotas are met). The VPDI will be responsible for leading efforts to conceptualize, define, assess, nurture, and cultivate diversity as an institutional value and educational priority. The VPDI will also coordinate educational efforts to foster a climate of inclusion for the campus community. The VPDI will be directly responsible for the Diversity Resource Office, ethnic cultural centers and their programs, and the Women?s Resource Office.

Well, I guess that answers all our questions, although I suppose there?s still the mystery of why a university would hire someone to foster, promote, enhance, and embrace something that still needs to be defined.

Full post as published by Discriminations on January 30, 2009 (boomark / email).